Material handling conveyer buggy



June 29, I954 J. A. THOMAS MATERIAL HANDLING CONVEYER BUGGY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 File& Feb. 27. 1952 June 29, 1954 J. A. THOMAS MATERIAL HANDLING CONVEYER EUGGY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 27, 1952 Imam: Java? fi/onms,

Patented June 29, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE James A. Thomas, Munhall, Pa., assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application February 27, 1952, Serial No. 273,647

4 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to material handling apparatus in general and in particular to a load supporting buggy especially suitable for supportin articles being conveyed by an endless conveyor. The invention finds particular adaptability in applications requiring the transfer of an article from an endless conveyor where it is being carried on its side to another conveyor or platform in upright or end-up position.

An application which is broadly illustrative of the means of operation of my invention is the transfer of nail kegs in a nail mill from a point where the kegs are loaded onto a conveyor in a horizontal position on their sides and are then carried to another point in the mill Where it is desired that they be discharged onto an adjacent roller conveyor in an end-up or upright position. In that application I shall, in an exemplary way, describe the apparatus of my invention.

These and other objects will become more apparent after referring to the followin specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention installed on an endless chain conveyor;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, taken on the line III -III of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing a modified conveyor with which the invention may be used.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2 indicates generally a conveyor framework consisting of a pair of spaced ship channels t which are adapted to receive and guide the rollers 6 of a pair of endless conveyor chain elements 8 and Ill. The rollers of each of the elements 8 and lil are connected by means of outer links I2 and inner links 14. Each of the conveyor chain elements i; and III are mounted around and are rotated by sprockets l6 and I8 which are vertically disposed adjacent the charging and discharging ends 20 and 22 respectively of each of the chain elements. One or both of the pairs of sprockets l6 and I8 may be driven. The structure thus far described is conventional and is not claimed as part of my invention which will now be described in detail.

The conveyor buggy of my invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 24, is positioned between every fourth pair of oppositely disposed inner links M. Each of the conveyor buggies includes a base plate 26 which is attached to and extends between the inner links I4, interconnecting the chain elements 8 and H], as best shown in Figure 2. A platform member 28 is supported above each base plate 26 by means of two vertical supports 30 and 32 which are welded or otherwise attached to the platform 28 and the base plate 26. The supporting platform 28 may be curved, as shown, to accommodate the outer curvature of the nail kegs to be carried.

A counterweighted lever 34, which is positioned beneath each platform 28, is pivotally attached to each buggy unit by means of a pin 36, which projects through holes 38 and 40 in the vertical supports 38 and 32 respectively, and a bearing element 42, which constitutes the pivotal part of the lever 34. The lever 34 is made up of two angularly off-set leg elements 46 and 48 of unequal length which may be welded on opposite sides of the bearing element 42. The leg elements 46 and 48 have their end portions 46 and 48 bent upwardly at right angles in the form of flanges. A bracket 50 is attached to the under-surface of the end of the short arm 48 and depends therefrom to support a counterweight 52 which projects inwardly from the lower portion of the bracket. The counterweight 52 serves to keep the leg 46 of lever 34 in a substantially horizontal position when the keg conveyor buggy 24 is traveling in a horizontal plane toward the discharge end of the conveyor. When the bug y 24 is traveling in a horizontal plane, counterweight 52 also causes end flange 46 to project upwardly over the rearward end of the platform 28 and flange 48 to remain in the down position clear of the front end of the platform.

In operation, a keg of nails W is rolled onto a buggy 24 on its side and in this position is conveyed to the discharge end 22 of the conveyor. As the buggy 24 travels toward the discharge end 22 and starts to pass between and over the sprockets IS, the counterweight 52 causes arm 48 to maintain its horizontal position while the front end 54 of the platform 28 moves downwardly causing the flange it to project thereover and support the end of the keg W. At the same time the rear end 56 of the platform rises above the flange 46. The flange it supports the bottom of the keg W until it is deposited in up-ended or upright position on the end of the receivin roller conveyor 58 as shown in Figure 1. At this point counterweight 52 causes the flange 48' to swing inwardly away from the end of roller conveyor 58. Prior to the development of my keg conveyor buggy the kegs were discharged on their sides and had to be up-ended by an operator stationed at the discharge end of the conveyor.

The apparatus of my invention is also suitable for moving articles from one level to another, as for example, from a lower floor to an upper floor of a mill. In this instance, as shown in Figure 4, a buggy in the receiving portion of the chain conveyor at its lower end receives the keg on its side from a roller conveyor adjacent thereto and conveys it in an angular position to the upper floor level where the chain elements travel horizontally to the discharge end thereof. When the ke is being carried in an angular position from the lower to the upper level, the end portions 46'- projects over the rear end 56 of the platform 28 to hold the keg in position thereon.

As the buggies travel along the underside of the conveyor system, after the kegs have been transferred, the counterweight 52; maintains the lever 34 in a horizontal plane, as shown in Figure 1. When the buggy travels up over and between the sprockets l6 adjacent the receiving end of the conveyor, the counterweight causes the end portion 46' to rise above the rear end 56 of the platform 28 ready to receive and hold another keg thereon.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for handling material consisting of two spaced parallel endless chain conveyors having a common discharge end, said conveyors having spaced upper and lower flights made up of connected links mounted around and adapted to be rotated by vertically disposed sprockets at each end thereof, and a third conveyor positioned adjacent to and spaced from the discharge end of said parallel chain conveyors in a plane below the upper flights thereof, the improvement therewith for transferring an article carried on its side on the upper flights of said parallel chain conveyors to end-up position on said third conveyor comprising a plurality of article-supporting buggies carried between and by'said parallel chain conveyors at spaced intervals therealong, each of said buggies including abase plate disposed between and affixed to said parallel chain conveyors at spaced intervals, a pair of'spaced vertical supports attached to and extending upwardly from said base plate, a supporting platform disposed on said vertical supports spaced above said base plate, and gravity operated means associated with each of said buggies to hold an article thereon while the buggy travels toward the discharge end of said. parallel chain conveyors and downwardly from the upper flights thereof toward said third conveyor, said gravity operated means including a pin supported by'and extending between said vertical supports below said supporting platform, a lever having two arms of unequal length pivotally mounted on said" pin with the long arm thereof extending slightly beyond the end of said platform in the direction away from said discharge end substantially parallel to the plane of travel of the parallel conveyors and the short arm extending angularly away from said long arm in the opposite direction to a point slightly beyond the end of said platform as the buggy travels on the upper flights of said parallel conveyors, a flange on the free end of said short arm extending normal thereto upwardly toward said supporting platform, a counterweight carried by a bracket subtendingrfrom thevfree end ofsaid short arm, said counterweight being attached to the inner side of said bracket so that the flange on the free end of said short arm is held above the platform as the buggy travels downwardly from the upper flight at the discharge end of said parallel conveyors toward said third conveyor.

2. In apparatus for handling material having two spacedparallel endless. chain conveyors with a common discharge end, said'conveyors having vertically spaced upper and lower flights made up of connected links mounted around and adapted to be rotated by vertically disposed sprockets at each end thereof, and a third conveyor positioned adjacent to and spaced from the discharge end of said parallel chain conveyors in a planebelow the upper flights thereof, the improvement therewith for transferring an article carried on its side on the upper flights of said parallel chain conveyors to end-up position on said third conveyor comprising a plurality of article-supporting buggies carried between and by said parallel chain conveyors at spaced inter,- vals' therealong, each of said buggies including a. base plate disposed between and affixed tov said parallel chain conveyors at spaced intervals, a pair of spaced vertical supports attached to and extending upwardly from said base plate, a supporting platform disposed on said vertical supports spaced above said base plate, and gravity operated means associated with each of said buggies to hold an article thereon while the buggy travels toward the discharge end of said parallelchain conveyors and downwardly from the upper flights'thereof toward said third conveyor, said gravity operated means including a pin supported by and extending between said vertical supports below said supporting platform, a lever. having two arms of unequal length pivotally mounted'on said pin with the long arm thereof extending slightly beyond the end of said platform in the direction away from said discharge end-substantially parallel to the plane of travel of the parallel conveyors and the short arm extending angularly away from said long arm in the opposite direction to a point slightly beyond the end of said platform as the buggy travels on the upper flights of said parallel conveyors, a flange onthe free end of each arm extending normal thereto upwardly toward said supporting platform, a counterweight carried by a bracket subtending from the free end of said shorter arm, said counterweight being attached to the inner side of said bracket so that the flange of the long arm is held above the platform as the buggy travels on the upper flights of said chain conveyors and the flange on the short arm held above the platform as the buggy travels downwardly at the discharge end of said parallel conveyors toward said third conveyor.

3. In an endless chain conveyor having two spaced parallel endless chain elements made up of connected links, said chain elements being mounted around and adapted to be rotated by vertically disposed sprockets at each end of said conveyor, one of the ends of said conveyor being a discharge end, the improvement therewith of a plurality of buggies carried between and by said chain elements at spaced intervals therealong, an article-supporting platform on each of said buggies, a counterweighted gravity-operated lever pivotally attached to each buggy subjacent the platform thereof, said lever projecting slightly beyond each end of said platform, flanges on the projecting ends of said lever projecting normal thereto toward the level of said. plate form, said lever being actuated by said counterweight to maintain one flanged end raised above the level of said platform while the buggy travels toward the discharge end of said conveyor and to pivot and lower said one flanged end and maintain the opposite flanged end above the level of said platform as said buggy travels downward- 1y around said discharge end to hold an article on said platform.

4:. In an endless chain conveyor having two spaced parallel chain elements made up of connected links, said chain elements being mounted around and adapted to be rotated by vertically disposed sprockets at each end of said conveyor, one of the ends of said conveyor being a discharge end, the improvement therewith of a plurality of article-supporting buggies carried between and by said chain elements at spaced intervals therealong, each of said buggies including a base plate disposed between and afiixed to said chain elements, a supporting platform attached to and spaced above said base plate, a gravity actuated lever pivotally mounted between said base plate and said platform with its ends projecting slightly beyond the ends of said platform, said lever having a first arm extending from its pivot point in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of travel of the conveyor and a second arm extending angularly away from said first arm in the opposite direction, a flange on the free end of each arm extending normal thereto toward the level of said platform, a counterweight attached to one arm of said lever whereby the flange at one end of said lever is held above said platform to hold an article thereon as the buggy travels toward said discharge end and the flange at the opposite end of said lever is held above said platform to hold an article thereon as the buggy travels downwardly around the discharge end of said conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 737,195 Barry Aug. 25, 1903 

